There was speculation that China would play a “more active role” in supporting NATO's attempt to pacify Afghanistan, especially after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that Chinese forces could join the military coalition in Afghanistan during a speech to Council on Foreign Relations (here)

It was followed shortly by NATO’s statement that we “may ask China to provide support for the war effort in Afghanistan, including possibly opening a supply link for alliance forces” (here) However, those two diplomatic overtures met with the standard Chinese government statement of “placing the decision under consideration” and in June 2008, Afghanistan's foreign minister, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, joined the call for China to open the Wakhan Corridor to be used as a supply route for NATO’s ongoing operation. (here)

Since I blogged “Will China play a more 'direct' role in both Pakistan and Afghanistan conflicts," there were no major developments as China seemed to follow its foreign policy doctrine of "noninterference in others internal affairs" strictly. Recently, the Chinese media has started to focus on the developments in Central Asia. Perhaps it is due to the recent Xinjing riot as both the Global Times (here) and the PLA Daily (here) wrote articles about the Wakhan Corridor to generate interest in that region. Today, photos of PAP (People's Armed Police) personnel training Afghan police surfaced on Chinese internet (as opposed to the "other" internet). Oddly enough, there is nothing in the media that has covered this important shift.

3 comments:

What a preposterous suggestion to involve China in the Wests war's of aggression! Not only does the West fund dissidents and traitors in China as well as criticize and insult us, they even have the cheek to as us to help them put down the Afghans.

You make your bed, you lie in it.

The opening of the Wakhan corridor as a supply route for NATO is a naked strategy of deception to enable the West to openly and legitimately arm and organize the various secessionist groups sponsored by them within China's own territory.

Arms, ammunition, money and provisions can be 'lost' enroute and fall into the hands of the Dalai Lama's and Rebiya Kadeer's people.

Furthermore, naturally the West will demand that they be allowed to 'escort' and provide 'press coverage' to any convoys they send through China.

Thus not only will this further the West's strategy of the dismemberment of China (remember the Soviet Union) but it will allow the Western press to attack her while doing it!

They arrogantly assume that China and its leadership will naively fall for such an obvious trap.

China should smile and nod our heads, and make our own deals with the Afghans and the Taliban, a modus vivendi if you will.

As long as the West continues of raise, fund and support such groups China should hold back on wholehearted cooperation on these issues.

It has enough to do developing the economy and the military.

And if the West continues with support of their lackeys China should consider arming the Taliban and Iraqi separatists with more effective weapons to increase the costs and casualties of America's new wars of aggression.